Case dates back a decade
Macau’s Court of Final Appeals has denied an appeal filed by former Prosecutor General Ho Chio Meng that would have released him from detention pending disposition of a legal case against him for corruption. The onetime top official applied for a writ of habeas corpus, which was declined by Judge Viriato Lima. According to the Macau Daily Times, in his ruling, the judge cited legal precedent, saying Ho Chio Meng must remain in custody like disgraced former Secretary for Transport and Public Works Ao Man Long.
“The public would not understand or it may trigger social panic if it the court declined to hear the case of the former Prosecutor-General, who is in a similar situation (to the former secretary),” the judge wrote, and added that no further appeals may be filed in the case.
“A decision made by the Court of Final Appeal is the final ruling,” he wrote. “It does not accept any appeal against the decision.”
Ho Chio Meng, once viewed as a candidate for the chief executive role now held by Paulo Martins Chan, was arrested at the end of February. He is accused of colluding with local businessmen of awarding some 2,000 illegal public contracts between 2004 and 2014, the Daily Times reported.
